


with a thousand sweet kisses

by MaddieandChimney



Series: Madney: Hello, Global Pandemic [4]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M, I suppose, Potential Spoilers, maybe... i could be psychic, mentions of pandemic life, probably not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28929225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: It's the morning after Chimney has finally come home and Maddie asks him what finally made him walk through that door after months apart.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Madney: Hello, Global Pandemic [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120586
Comments: 17
Kudos: 18





	with a thousand sweet kisses

Waking up to the smell of bacon in the morning brings a smile to her face, which only grows when she walks towards the kitchen a few moments later, one hand on her expanding stomach as she leans up against the wall and just watches him. He’s in a world of his own, the radio quietly playing as he hums along to it, entirely focused on the stove in front of him. Having him home was the best feeling in the world to her right then, knowing they could move on from the months they had spent apart and finally have each other. 

Albert had been wonderful, she couldn’t fault him at all but, he simply wasn’t the Han she wanted to spend all of her time with. Mango missed their daddy and she had missed him, too. So much. Too much. She can remember the hurt she had felt when Buck had told her that Eddie and Hen had made the decision to go back home to their families, which, with kids involved, wasn’t the easiest decision in the world. She had thought, maybe, Chimney would only need a few days, maybe even a week, to see that nothing awful had happened to the Diaz or Wilson families. It had been months since then, though and Maddie hates herself for it but sometimes… in the darkest moments, in the quiet of the night when she was staring at where Chimney should have been sleeping, she had wondered if he would ever be able to come back to her. 

Pregnancy in a pandemic was isolating and not the joyous occasion it would have been had she gotten pregnant the year before, or really… any year. There wasn’t any celebration other than via a webcam. No hugs, no party or baby shower or…  _ anything.  _ She couldn’t even have her boyfriend with her at the scans, lying there, wearing a mask over her mouth and just staring at the screen, praying that their baby was okay because the thought of anything happening was terrifying enough. The thought of something happening and her having to be alone to hear it? That was enough to keep her awake for the few nights before each scan, trying to tell herself that just because she wanted it so badly, it didn’t mean it would be stolen away from her. It was just hard to stay positive in the most trying time. 

“Maddie? Are you okay?” She had been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn’t even realised that Chimney had said anything to her in the first place, shaking it off when she looks up at him. He’s home and she’s happy but there’s a small part of her that’s scared that maybe he doesn’t fully want to be there yet, maybe the fear he has will never go away and, although it was different, Maddie had spent so much of her life being scared, it wasn’t how she wanted to spend the rest of her pregnancy. And she knows that this wasn’t what they imagined, this hadn’t what they had talked about as she had excitedly told him about buying Buck something uncle themed and letting the pieces fall together as he stood right in front of them. It wasn’t quite the family meal she had imagined with the Lees or the celebration at Bobby and Athena’s house. There would be no baby shower, no people coming to the hospital to see the baby when he or she was born, no prenatal classes so she could meet and talk to other pregnant women. She was already missing out on so much, it was a relief to not have to miss out on Chimney anymore. 

“More than okay.” She finally answered, smiling when she sees the concern in his eyes before she lifts her hand to press against his cheek. She thinks it’s impossible to feel any happier than she does right then, at least until his lips are against hers and she’s reminded, as she had been the night before, of just how much she had missed being  _ near _ him. Of course, there were the intimate things that came with being in a relationship, things she had missed but being around Chimney had always felt like she could breathe again, as though… everything would be okay, even if it had seemed all too impossible. The pandemic isn’t over, probably far from it but having him home helped ease some of the pain she felt. Besides, moving into Chimney’s… well… their apartment, now, without him had been difficult, even painful at times when she was reminded of everything they could have had and seeing his side of the closet empty and his side of the bed was cold and whilst work was a good distraction and Albert had tried so hard to make sure she knew she wasn’t truly alone, there were still those horrific moments when she couldn’t actually see an end to it all. 

It’s with a breath that she pulls away, letting her hand linger on his cheek, reminding herself that this is real and not one of the very many dream scenarios in which she had imagined throughout the last few months. “Mango is kicking, told you they’re more active in the morning.” Maddie can remember the slight disappointment in his face when bump hadn’t really been playing ball last night, although at twenty-four weeks, since she had been able to feel the movements, it was always more so in the morning. There’s an awe on Chimney’s face when he presses his hands to her bump, his eyes shining with unshed tears and a glimmer of excitement, even though she knows him well enough to still see the uncertainty and the fear behind it all. She gets it, she could see Josh’s hand lingering sometimes, as though he wanted to reach out but was wary, and she couldn’t blame him. Pregnancy was scary at the best of times, especially at thirty-eight but this brought all new complications with it. 

“Oh wow, I-I can feel… wow…” The tears he had been trying to hold back fall, the grin on his face causing her heart to flutter as she nods her head. The first time she had felt their baby move, she had cried out of happiness and then out of sadness because she had turned her head to tell Chimney as she had laid in bed one morning and reminded herself suddenly that he wasn’t there anymore. He was at her brother’s apartment, going to work and dealing with the fact that emergencies don’t just stop because there’s a global pandemic. The phone never stopped ringing, the moments of peace were few and far between and the world was such a strange place to be in, it’s hard to remember that she had spent over thirty-seven years in the world where she could be around people and that had been… normal. “It’s amazing, you’re amazing… you’re… that’s our baby. Not on a camera.” 

Both of them let out a laugh, tinged with sadness as he leans down to press his forehead gently against hers, nudging their noses together as he keeps both of his hands on her stomach. Silence falls, for a few moments, Mango fully enjoying showing off, or so it seems, practically playing a game of soccer as Chimney’s thumbs brush gently against the fabric of her top, tears falling between them as he looks down. “Thank you for coming home.” They hadn’t really done a lot of talking the night before and she didn’t know if thanking him was the right thing to say or to feel but… it’s how she feels. Grateful to have him, happy to know she has the next sixteen weeks of the pregnancy to enjoy with him and so much could change in that period of time. He might be allowed in the hospital with her to hold her hand so she didn’t have to go through it alone. 

“I was always gonna come home, Mads.” A part of her knows that, a big part of her, of course she does but sometimes it was harder to believe than she would ever dare to admit out loud. Buck would tell her about how Christopher and Eddie were doing and Karen would text her how glad she was to have Hen home because homeschooling Denny and raising Nia on her own was difficult and Maddie was glad for them. Jealous, most definitely, but glad for them all the same. 

He pulls back and she can see the regret on his face almost immediately, safe in the knowledge that he had missed the contact and the closeness as much as she had before he moves back to finish up making breakfast, the pout on his lips making her giggle before being replaced by a pout on her lips when he talks, “Now that I’m home, I made you some tea.” The look he gives her is enough to at least stop her from snapping, just a little, mostly happy he can scold her for her caffeine habit in person as she wraps her hands around the mug he extends towards her and scrunches her nose up. “And yes, to make it fair, I’ve not got coffee either.” 

That makes it a little better, she supposes, just a little, knowing just a few days and a few batted eyelashes and pouts here and there, will mean she’ll get her way eventually. He can have a few days to settle in and let him think he’s won the battle of the cup of joe in the morning argument. “What made you come home?” She finally asks the question she had wanted to know the answer to since he had walked through the door the night before, taking a breath as she moves to lean back against the kitchen counter, watching him carefully. 

Chimney concentrates for a second on dishing out their food, before he shrugs his shoulders, “We found a baby in the landslide… unharmed, thankfully and blissfully unaware of everything that was happening around him and… I don’t know. I just… I couldn’t stop thinking about him and our baby and how… sad you looked the last time we spoke. It was everything and nothing all at the same time, I just… know that no matter what, I’m gonna be scared but… we can be scared together. I don’t… I don’t have to be alone, you don’t have to be and we’re only gonna get this pregnancy once and we’ve already missed out on so much. I knew that it didn’t matter how terrified I am, there’s a burden to be shared and coming home is just the right thing to do. I missed you and I missed us and your brother is a sucky roommate.”

Maddie only lets out a small laugh as she nods her head, stepping forward to run her fingers through his hair, fingers tracing down his jawline before her hand drops to settle on his chest. “We’ll take precautions, we’ll be careful together. That’s all I’ve wanted and we know more now, we know what to do and what not to do and I trust you. I know you. I get tested three times a week at work, you get tested every shift… we’ll be okay. But we’ll be together,” Her hand moves only to take his, pressing it against her bump as she grins, “the three of us. Mommy, daddy and Mango.” 

“The three of us.” His voice is filled with amazement, glancing between her face and her stomach, a slow nod of his head before his lips are suddenly back against hers, throwing her arms around his neck in a bid to pull him as close as she possibly can, unable to stop the joy on her face as she does. He’s home and right then, it’s all that matters. 


End file.
